Selected Readings in English and American Prose本部.docx

Selected Readings in English and American Prose本部.docx

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SelectedReadingsinEnglishandAmericanProse本部

SelectedReadingsinEnglishandAmericanProse

Content

LessonOne:

Introduction

LessonTwo:

OfMarriageandSingleLife（FrancisBacon）

LessonThree:

AModestProposal（JonathanSwift）

LessonFour:

SirRogeratChurch（JosephAddison）

LessonFive:

LettertoLordChesterfield（SamuelJohnson）

LessonSix:

DreamChildren:

AReverie（CharlesLamb）

LessonSeven:

EarlyEffortsatWriting（RobertLouisStevenson）

LessonEight:

HowtoGrowOld（BertrandRussell）

LessonNine:

TheAuthor’sAccountofHimself（WashingtonIrving）

LessonTen:

TheAmericanScholar（RalphWaldoEmerson）

LessonEleven:

TheEssayist（ElwynBrooksWhite）

LessonTwelve:

SecondInauguralAddress（AbrahamLincoln）

LessonOne:

Introduction

ClassOrganization:

Activeparticipationiswelcomed,includingclasspresentationandfreediscussion.Classpresentationwillbecenteredontheunderstandingofgiventextsandliteraryterms.

FinalExam:

centeringonwhat’vebeenstudiedanddiscussedintheclass.

I.Interestingquotationswillbegiven,andSSareaskedtoidentifythequotationsbyauthorandnameofthework,andalsotoexplaintheirmeaningbriefly.Thus,SSshouldmakethemselvestogetveryfamiliarwithwhattheyhavestudiedintheclass.

II.Explainsomeliteraryterms.

III.Answerquestionsconcerningthetextsthathavebeenstudiedintheclass.Thosequestionsmaycoverthecontent,thehistoricalbackground,theauthorandeventhestylisticfeaturesofthetexts.

IV.Blank-filling.Twopiecesofessaywillbechosenforthefinaltest.

LiteraryTerms

Prose（散文）　Initsbroadestsense,thetermisappliedtoallformsofwrittenorspokenexpressionwhichdonothavearegularrhythmicpattern.Butmostoftenitismeanttodesignateaconscious,cultivatedwriting,notmerelyabringingtogetherofvocabularies,alistingofideas,acatalogueofobjects.Whileproseislikeverseinthatthegoodprosehasarhythm,itisunlikeverseinthatthisrhythmisnottobescannedbyanyofthenormalmetricalschemes.Thequalitiesofproseinclude:

（1）itiswithoutsubstantialrhythmicregularity;

（2）ithassomelogical,grammaticalorderanditsideasareconnectedlystatedratherthanmerelylisted;（3）itischaracterizedbythevirtuesofstyle,thoughthestylewillvary,naturally,fromwritertowriter;（4）itwillsecurevarietyofexpressionthroughdictionandthroughsentencestructure.Prose,interestinglyenough,hasinallliteraturesdevelopedmoreslowlythanverse.

（adaptedfromWilliamFlintThrall,AddisonHibbardandC.HughHolman）

Essay（随笔，小品文）Amoderatelybriefprosediscussionofarestrictedtopic.Becauseofthewideapplicationoftheterm,nosatisfactorydefinitioncanbearrivedat.Norisawhollyacceptable“classification”ofessaytypespossible.Abasicandveryusefuldivisioncan,however,bemade:

formalandinformalessays.Theinformalessay,sometimescalledthe“true”essay,includesmoderatelybriefaphoristic（警句似的，格言似的）essayslikeBacon’s,periodicalessayslikeAddison’s,andpersonalessayslikeLamb’s.Qualitieswhichmakeanessayinformalinclude:

thepersonalelement（self-revelation,individualtastesandexperiences,confidentialmanner）,humor,gracefulstyle,ramblingstructure,unconventionalityornoveltyoftheme,freshnessofform,freedomfromstiffnessandaffectation,incompleteortentativetreatmentoftopic.Thepointsofviewandwiderangeofthemesintheinformalessaymaybesuggestedbycitingafewtypicaltitles:

“OntheEnjoymentofUnpleasantPlaces”（Stevenson）,“ACureforFitsinMarriedLadies”（Steele）,“AChapteronEars”（Lamb）,“ADissertationonRoastPig”（Lamb）,“GettingUponColdMornings”（Hunt）,“OnGoingaJourney”（Hazlitt---advocatingthesolitaryhike）,“EveryMan’sNaturalDesiretoBeSomebodyElse”（Crothers）.Qualitiesoftheformalessayinclude:

soberseriousnessofpurpose,dignity,logicalorganization,length.Thetermmayincludebothshortdiscussions,expositoryorargumentative,suchastheseriousmagazinearticle,andlongertreatises,likethechaptersinCarlyle’sHeroandHero-worship.

（adaptedfromWilliamFlintThrall,AddisonHibbardandC.HughHolman）

ClassicEssay:

Inliterarystudiesandcriticism,theterm“classic”isverybroadandcomprehensiveinmeaning.Itmayreferto:

（1）theworksofthehighestrankinanynation,aseverynation,bigorsmall,hasatleastoneperiodthatseesgreatestworks;

（2）GreekorRomanliterature,oranyworkthatfollowstheGreekandRomantraditionofwriting;and（3）theworksthatconformtostrictrulesorelegantforms,producedfromintellectratherthanimagination,andavoidingobscurityorself-indulgence.

Ofthespecificliterarygenres,thetermisusedinmuchthesameway.Generallyspeaking,theclassicessaypossessesthefollowingcharacteristicsofclassicliterature:

1.Classicliteratureisofclarity,splendour,sublimity,andphilosophicality.Andthesepropertiesarecommoninalmostallclassicessays,asthosebyAristotle,Cicero,Confucius,Montaigne,Bacon,Emersonandthekind.

2.InWesternliteraturethereisalwaysalastingtraitofGreekandRomanvigourwhichfostersaclassictemperamentintheliterarymindsofmanygenerations.ClassicessayistsasBaconandPopedirectlyorindirectlyadoptmuchofHomer,Horace（注：

Romanlyricpoet.HisOdesandSatireshaveexertedamajorinfluenceonEnglishpoetry.）,Virgil（注：

Romanpoet.HisgreatestworkistheepicpoemAeneid,whichtellsofthewanderingsofAeneasafterthesackofTroy.）,Ovid（注：

Romanpoetknownforhisexplorationsoflove,especiallytheArtofLove（c.1b.c.）andMetamorphoses变形记（c.a.d.8）.）orSenecainsubjects,styles,andevenlanguageitself.Theircompositionsarethereforeoftypicalclassicbeautyandstrength.

3.Greatimportanceisplaceduponstrictrules,elegantforms,refineddiction,confinedsyntax,andbalancedtexture,inallclassicliteratureincludingtheclassicessay,whichismoreflexible,though.Yetsomeessayists,suchasthoseoftheAugustanEnglandandsocomparabletotheTongchengSchoolofChina,complysostrictlywiththeclassicstandardsthattheirworksbearmuchaffectation,elaboration,andnon-naturalness.TheselinguisticfeaturesaresotruetoclassicessayistsinEngland.

4.Theclassicessayisascomprehensiveinsubjectmattersandstylesasinallclassicliterature.Insubjects,theclassicessaydealswithavarietyofthemes:

philosophy,literarycriticism,arts,politics,history,socialproblems,travels,andotheraspectsoflife.Itsstyle,however,varieswitheveryindividualessayist.Forexample,Ciceroisgracefullyeloquent;Baconisweightyandhighlysententious（警句的，富于格言的）;Swiftisdeceptivelyplainandsatiricallyforceful;Addisonis“familiarbutnotcoarse,elegantbutnotostentatious（炫耀的）.”

InTermsofliteraryhistory,theclassicessay,muchinthesamewayastheclassicliterature,includes

（1）theworksoftheindividualessayistsbeforeclassicismflourishedasaliteraryclimate,whichmightbetermedasthepre-classicessay;

（2）theworksmass-producedintheClassicAgewhenclassicismwasaconsciousliterarypursuitandaprevailingliterarymode;（3）theworkscreatedintheNeoclassicAge,whichmightbereferredtoastheneoclassicessay;（4）theworksoftheindividualessayistwhocomplywiththeclassicstandardsinthetimesaftertheClassicandNeoclassicAgeswhenclassicismdeclined.

Classicwriterspreparedmuchformodernliterature;modernessayistsorprosewritersowemuchtoclassicessays,withoutwhich,assomeliterarycriticsbelieve,theywouldhavetobuildtheirliterarycastlejustonthequicksand.

LessonTwo:

OfMarriageandSingleLife（FrancisBacon）

OfMarriageandSingleLife

HEthathathwifeandchildrenhathgivenhostagestofortune;fortheyareimpedimentstogreatenterprises,eitherofvirtueormischief.Certainlythebestworks,andofgreatestmeritforthepublic,haveproceededfromtheunmarriedorchildlessmen,whichbothinaffectionandmeanshavemarriedandendowedthepublic.Yetitweregreatreasonthatthosethathavechildrenshouldhavegreatestcareoffuturetimes,untowhichtheyknowtheymusttransmittheirdearestpledges.Sometherearewho,thoughtheyleadasinglelife,yettheirthoughtsdoendwiththemselves,andaccountfuturetimesimpertinences.Nay,therearesomeotherthataccountwifeandchildrenbutasbillsofcharges.Naymore,therearesomefoolishrichcovetousmenthattakeaprideinhavingnochildren,becausetheymaybethoughtsomuchthericher.Forperhapstheyhaveheardsometalk,“Suchaoneisagreatrichman”,andanotherexcepttoit,“Yea,buthehathagreatchargeofchildren”,asifitwereanabatementtohisriches.Butthemostordinarycauseofasinglelifeisliberty,especiallyincertainself-pleasingandhumorousminds,whicharesosensibleofeveryrestraint,astheywillgoneartothinktheirgirdlesandgarterstobebondsandshackles.Unmarriedmenarebestfriends,bestmasters,bestservants，butnotalwaysbestsubjects,fortheyarelighttorunaway,andalmostallfugitivesareofthatcondition.Asinglelifedothwellwithchurchmen,forcharitywillhardlywaterthegroundwhereitmustfirstfillapool.Itisindifferentforjudgesandmagistrates,foriftheybefacileandcorrupt,youshallhaveaservantfivetimesworsethanawife.Forsoldiers,Ifindthegeneralscommonlyintheirhortativesputmeninmindoftheirwivesandchildren;andIthinkthedespisingofmarriageamongsttheTurksmakeththevulgarsoldiermorebase.Certainlywifeandchildrenareakindofdisciplineofhumanity;andsinglemen,thoughtheymaybemany